Hollyoaks spoilers follow.
Hollyoaks will kick off a major new storyline as Rita Simons prepares to make her debut as Marie Fielding.
The former EastEnders star will make her debut on the Channel 4 soap next week, with her arrival in the village shortly following her son Abe.
Marie will make a bold entrance as she joins the McQueens at The Dog while wearing Mercedes’ dress, with her debut coming in the middle of a fight between half-brothers Joel Dexter and Abe during the gender reveal party for Cleo McQueen’s baby.
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Joel, who had previously told Abe that he wanted nothing to do with Marie, was left stunned by her arrival and quickly rebuffs her attempts at reconciliation.
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Her motives for returning to the village seem dubious, however, as a conversation with Abe hints at some ulterior feelings.
Marie subsequently clashes with Mercedes, with the latter throwing a drink over the newcomer during a heated argument. Mercedes later confides to Joel that she wants Marie to leave the village as quickly as she entered it, prioritising the needs of their children.
Marie’s struggles continue when she gets into a spot of bother at The Loft as she drunkenly attempts to steal a bag – will she begin to be accepted in the village, or will her mystery plan come to light?
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Simons, who played Roxy Mitchell on EastEnders, was announced as part of the Hollyoaks cast last year, but her role as Marie was kept under wraps until last month, with the press release teasing that she would cause "quite a stir".
"Marie’s got a lot of ties here, so I think there’s going to be quite a lot of trouble between quite a few characters, and you will just have to keep watching to see," said Simons in a statement following the announcement.
Hollyoaks streams first online via Channel 4 each weekday at 7.30pm. Episodes then air on E4 the following day, before getting their YouTube premiere a week after that.
Selected omnibus episodes are available via Prime Video.
